Method and apparatus for preserving posts



May. 10 1927.v

M. E.' BROWN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING POSTS Filed Ausl. 28, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1,627,829l May 10,1927. M., E. BROWN METHOD AND APPARATUS PQR PREsERv-ING PosTs` vFiled Aufl. 28,A 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 will y Y f/v N70/R.

1,627,829 My lo 1927' M. E. BROWN METHOD AAND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING POSTS Filed Aue. 28, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l ATTORNEY.:

Patented May 10, 1927.

Unirse STATESv PATENT oFiFlcE.l

MAURICE E. BROWN, OF MARINETTE., WISCONSIN.

vlllEl'IIIEIOID AND APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING POSTS.l

Application led AugustZS, 1924. Serial No. 734,812.

My invention relates to improvements in perforators for posts and similar articles, and methods and apparatus for preserving posts.

In the art relating to the preservation of wooden posts, etc., it is common to apply creosote or other preservatives in yliquid form either by dippingthe posts in the liquid or applying the liquid thereto by means of a brush or through a spray nozzle. In some instances the preservative has been driven into the wood by the application of pressure within a retort, or by the application of both pressure and heat. The eX- pense of driving the preservative into the pores of the Wood by the application of pressure, or pressure and heat, is prohibitive for ordinary purposes and particularly so where the posts to be treated are of considerable length asv is the case withtelephone and'telegraph posts.y Therefore, a common P practice is to merely coat the surface of the wood, although it is known that in such cases the preservative does not penetrate to any great depth, and the preservative is quickly removed by natural washing and leaching processes.

The object ot this invention is to provide eiective method means whereby `wooden posts and similar articles with uneven sur- I depth and ot a character which will not materially affect the strength of the post, whereby a liquid preservative will be permitted to enter the pores of the wood across the cellulose binder walls to such a substantial dept-h as to prevent it from being washed or leached out of the wood under ordinary conditions.

More particularly stated, itis an object of this invention to provide a woodjierorating machine which has a series of rotary perforating units each adapted to be .independently pressed against the wood, whereby when the post 01 other article is rotated, each perforating unit will penetrate the wood at a multitude of points in anannular Zone or belt preparatory to the application of the preservative.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view showing my improved machine, partly in section and partly in side elevation.

Figure 2 is an end View of the same with a portion broken away to show the detent for controlling the rotation.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the surface of a post after it has been perforated.

Figure 4 is a sectional view drawn on line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the portion of the machine illustrated in Figure l.

Figure 6 is a detailed view of a portion of the periphery of the rotary member of one of the rotating units.

Figure 7 is a detailed view showing a portion of said rotary member in side elevation and partially broken away to show the means for inserting and retaining the individual perforating devices.

' Figures 8, 9 andl() are detailed views of one of the perforating devices.

Figure 11 is an elevation showing the imroved machine in operation as viewed from one end of the log and of the holder for the series of perforating units.

positions of the successive wheel controlling detents.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

A holder l of a length substantially equal to the length of that portion of the post which it is desired to pertorate is provided `withcentrally disposed cylindrical projections 2 whereby it may be supported by the forked arm 3 (Figure l) of a suitable supporting and pressure applying device such, for example, as .thel slide 5 adjustable by means of the screw 6 and movable along a supporting column or standard 7 The slide has an arm 8 which supports the ork 3 and the latter is divided at Q wherebythe fork may be assembled in engagement with the projections 2 and then secured together by bolts l0. vEach fork arm 3 has an aperture to receive the associated projection 2 wherelfiiy 1the holder is pivotally connected with the The holder is provided with a series of vertically extending apertures toreceive the shanks of the perforatingvunits.l Each shank comprises two members 12 and 13 which are secured together by bolts 14, the heads of which areV countersunk in the member 13. At their lower ends theseshanks are provided Awith fork arms 1.7 and 18 having interleek,g

ysaid enlargement.

is threaded and engaged in a threaded soci-:et

formed in the upper end of the associated shank and a coiled compression spring 30 :with the head of the bolt engaging the `head of the cap 2G.

is interposed between the upper end of the shank and the head of the cap member 26,

whereby the shank is pressed downwardly byv ther spring and normally held in a position ilach wheel 2l with its associated shank is therefore permitted to move upwardly independently ot' every other wheel in the set or series under pressure snliicient to compress the spring 2:30. rlhe resistance to such upward movement will of course increase as the spring is compressed.

Each of the wheels 2l is provided with a rim 35 having notched peripheral flanges 36 projecting outwardly in radial planes. Each notch has the general form of a lvz'ey hole slot, the inner or base portion 37 ol the notch being cylindrical in form with a relatively narrow opening to the periphery of' the rim flange. The walls 38 of these openings diverge in the direction of the periphery. rl`he notches are slightly oblique to a plane which includes the axis of the wheel and they are paired in the respective side flanges 3G ol: the wheel rim so as to permit insertion olE a cross pin or rod 39 in each pair of notches with the encs of the pin held against radial movement by the respective flanges rEhe rods 39 ol each wheel comprise a plurality of peripheral portions of their respective wheels and are eccentric to the axis (not at the center) thereof. llerfoi-ating blades l0, somewhat similar in Yform to the wards of a hey, project outwardly or radially from the end portions of the cross pins or rods 3S) and xtend beyond the peripheries of the rim flanges 36 sufficiently to e; able them to penetrate the wood to the desired depth when rolled in pressure contact with the surface of' the post to be perforated. The divergent walls 3S of the notches allow a limited oscillatory movement ot the perforatine; blades el() and their associated cross pins o9 Within the slots.

After the cross pins have been inserted ask above described, they are held from sliding out transversely of the wheel by a set of 'retaining rings llwhich may be secured to the rim ot the wheel by screws 42. By removing one of these retaining rings the pins with their associated perforated blades may be removed to allow the peritorating blades to be sharpened or replaced.

Each perforating blade is preferably rectangular or substantially rectangular in cross section, as best shown in Figures 8, 9, and lO, and the outer extrenjiities oi? the blades are beveled to form oblique cutting edges pitched or inclined in the same direction as the rods or pins 39 with reference to planes which include the axis of the wheel. ln other words, the cutting edges ot the perlorating blades have a pitch substantially in a helical line and the degree of the pitch is determined by the inclination ot the edge of the blade and the inclination ofits associated supporting cross pin or rod 39.

ln order that the perforations made by ,zich successive wheel may be uniformly advanced with reference to longitudinal vlines through perforations made by the preceding` wheel, the wheel supporting forkheads ll) are provided with detents i8 mounted in recesses i9 with one end pivotally connected to the cross head 19 by a pivot pin 50. The other end off each detent is inturned and pro 'viced with av roller 5l which is received between the rim flanges 36 of the wheel and is adapted to yieldingly engage between successive cross pins or rods 39. A' coiled spring 5e is socketed in the head 19, the socket also receiving a guiding plunger 55 which bears uponl the detent #8 to yieldingly press the roller l in the direction of' the rim 100 of the wheel. l I

lt will bev obvious that in order 'iior a pertorating wheel to rotate7 its several cross rods or pins 39 will have to act successively upon roller 5l to elevate such roller slightly las against the compression of the respective spring 5l. As the roller passes over eachv ot the cross pins 39 it is pressed by its spring into the next succeeding space between pins ff). lnasmuch as thel per'liorating wheels are im not positively driven, each such wheel will tend to be brought to rest by the pressure oit' the detent spring holding roller 5l into what may be termed the inlerdental space between pins 39. Tilhen the machine is at iii' rest each of the detent rollers will lind one such interdental space in its associating perforating wheel and thus the teeth of' the perfor-ating wheels, acted on by aligned detent rollers, will be found in substantial mi alignment.

T he detents associated with successive wheels are preferably advanced or retracted `with reference to those of the next adjacent wheel so that the perforations produced by one wheel will be substantially in longitudinal lines extending'inidway betweenlcorrespending perforations produced by either one of the adjacent wheelsf ln the construetion shown this may be accomplished either by placing the pivot pin of` onedetent of an inch forwardly or backwardly withl reference to the position occupied by the next pin, or if desired, the pivot ypins may be aligned and each alternate detent may be made of an inch shorter than the intermediate detents. In this mannery the perforations made by the seriesof Wheels may be staggered or caused to follow a helical line around the post or pole from one end of the perforated Zone to the other substantially as illustrated in Figure 3.

In Figure et it will be observed that the. pivot pin 50 is mounted in a projecting member 5G on that portion of the head piece which is associated with shank section 13, the detent being engaged in a slot or slit formed in the projection. 5G, as clearly shown in Figure l. A lip 5'? on the other portion of the head piece connected with the shanl; section l2, is utilized to vprevent the pivot pin 50 from slipping out of its soclrct when the parts are assembled.

In operation, the wheels are applied to a post 60 which may be supported upon rollers 6l and 62. rlhe rollers 6l may be positively driven from any suitable source of power. In the construction shown the roller shaft 6l is provided with a sprocket wheel 63 whereby it may be actuated from a pulley and driving sprocket wheel 66 through a sprocket chain 67.

With the construction shown in Figure ll the holder l is supported above the post 60 by lthe slide 5. A downward pressure is applied to the holder by means of the screw 6 whereby all of the wheels are brought` into operative relation to the post 60 and the desired degree of normal pressure is applied. This pressure will in each case be sutlieient to partially compress the springs 30 and raise the bolt heads 25 above the heads of the caps 26 whereby each wheel is yieldingly pressed against the post with suflicient pressure to ensure the penetration of the perforating blades into the Wood. Thereupon, the post 60 may be rotated my means of the active roller or rollers 61 and each perforating wheel. will exert its pressure to drive the associated blades into the post independently of every other wheel since the pressure of each wheel will then be determined primarily by its associated spring 80.

The blades 40 form slits in the Wood which extend generally along lines longitudinal to the post but with a suliic-ient oblique pitch to cut across the cellulose walls of the pores to a suliicient extent to allow entry of the preservative to a considerable number of pores with a minimum of injury to the libres. The abruptly beveled surfaces of the blades tend to press the libres apart. The pitch of the pins or rods 89 is such as to cause the slits produced at one end thereof to assume a staggered relation with reference een 3 tothose produced by the blades at the other end thereof. The oblique pitch of the'cutting edge of each blade also' facilitates its entry into the curving surface of the post, since 'the blade can enter only one point on the surface at any given instant if the surface is a true curve and the pressure there-A fore progressively concentrated upon different portions of the cutting edge.

lt will be understood that fortelephone poles, fence posts and other posts used under similar conditions the areas particularly exposedto ldecay vare those in the vicinityof the surface of the ground, both above and below that surface. For piling, and for wooden articles to be more or less horizontally disposed along the surface of ground or water, the entire surface may be treated in accordance with my improved method in vwhich I open pores at short intervals along the surface between theends and insert a preservative inthe openings and into the pores, wherel it is less subject to delution and wash and Where it can slowly permeate the `wood under varying conditions of heat and moisture. The preservative may be applied and inserted by dipping the post in liquid preservative or by applying the preservative to the slitted area of the post by a brush or by spraying it'thereon, preferably vunder pressure or by any other suitable means of application.

I claim:

l. A wood perforator comprising the combinationvof a holder, an adjustable support therefor, a set of rot-ary Wheels provided with peripherally projecting perforating devices, and means for rotating a wooden post in pressure contact with said perforating devices, each of said wheels being adapted to Vyield independently of the others in accordance with the pressure exerted thereon and eac-h of said perforating devices being adapted to oscillate to a limited extentsubstantially7 in the plane of wheel rotation to allow it to be withdrawn from the wood by t-he rotating wheelsubstantially along the line of penetration. i

2. A wood perforator comprising the combination with means for supporting and rotating a post. of a rotatable perfor-ating member provided with relatively short pointed blades rotating with said member at substantially the peripheral rate of rotation of a post supported by said means, a standard carrying said member with its axis substantially parallel to the axis of such a post, and means for maintaining the blades of said member. held to the-periphery of such a post in pressure Contact, said blades being approximately radial with respect to said member and being independently oscillatable in the direction of rotation of said member whereby to be adapted to enter the periphery of such a post substantially along radial lines liti imy

and to leave such a post along substantially the line of entry.

3. The combination with a vertically adjustable support, ot a holder pivotally connected therewith, a set oitl Wheels provided with wood penetrating projections extending outwardly from their peripheries, forked supports provided with axles for said wheels and having shanks socketed in the holder, means for supporting the shanks in the holder sockets, means for applying resilient pressure to the Shanks to hold them in partiallyextended positions in which each may -have ylelding movement independently ot the others, and means ior rotating a wooden object, such as a post, in pressure contact with said projections.

4. in a device Jfor providing wooden posts with openings for preservative material, the combination with a set ot rotatable perforating wheels provided with outwardly pro- `iecting blades and having eccentric peripheral portions, of resiliently yieldable detent members contacting with such eccentric peripheral portions and adapted to maintain a plurality of said wheels yieldably in predetermined relative positions ot rotation.

5.y In a device torproviding wooden posts with openings for preservative material, the combination with means tor supporting and rotating a post, et a set ot idly rotatable pertorating wheels having eccentric portions and independently pressed in the direction of said means to contact with a post supported thereby and receive motion therefrom, together' with detents acting individually on eccentric portions ot' said wheels and adapted to maintain said wheels in predetermined positions oit relative rotation.

(5. In a post perliorator, the combination ot a wheel havingl a rim provided with transversely extending anchorage recesses, obliquely pitched along helical lines, oscillatory members anchored in said recesses and provided at their respective ends with blades, the cutting edges ot which are additionally pitched in an oblique direction from a transverse plane through the axis of the wheel, and means tor rotating a post in pressure contact with said blades.

7. ln a device tor providing wooden posts with openings 'I'or preservative material, the combination with means for supporting and rotating a post, of a set ot idly rotatable pertorating ywheels having eccentric portions and independently pressed in the direction ot said means to contact with a post sup- `ported thereby and receive motion therefrom, together with detents acting individually on eccentric portions oiE said wheels and adapted to maintain said wheels in predetermined positions of relative rotation, said wheels having transversely slotted peri pheries and penetrating blades respectively anchored in the slots ot said peripheries and projecting outwardly therefrom tor limited oscillation with respect to said'wheels.

8. The method ot preserving wooden posts, consisting in rotating the posts in contact with a multiple series of pertorating devices having blades disposed obliquely to the axis of rotation of the posts andv resiliently supporting each series of periorating devices Yfor movement independently of the next and controlling their rotation to produce pertorations which are staggered with reference to the perforations produced by the next series of such devices.

9. In a device ot the character described, the combination with means for supporting and rotating a post, of a set of marginally tianged wheels independently supported and pressed toward said means whereby toengage a post supported vthereon to be` rotated thereby, anchors extending` transverselybetween the yflanges et such;wheels,pertorating teeth carried by said anchors, and a .detent associated with each such -wheel and yieldably pressed in the direction thereof,=each such detent including a portion ladapted yieldably to engage said anchors, saidteeth being adapted to maintain said wheels in predetermined relative positions otrotation.

l0. ln a device of the character described, the combination with means for supporting and rotating a post, of a set ot' marginally flanged wheels independently supported and pressed toward-said means whereby to engage a post supported thereon to be rotated thereby, anchors extending transversely between the tlanges ot such wheels, perforating teeth carried by said anchors, and adetent associated with each such wheel and yieldably pressed in the direction thereof, each such detent including a portion .adapted yieldably to engage said anchors, said teeth being adapted to'maintain said wheels in predetermined relative positions ot rotation, certain of said detente being pressed in the direction of rotation otsaid wheels with respect to others ot said detents for a distance equivalent to a fractional. part of the peripheral distance between such teeth beyond others oi said teeth.

MAURICE E. BROWN. 

